Improve Your Life by Following the Right Twitter & Facebook Feeds

The world of finance is all around us. That brown UPS truck that cut you off doing 90mph, which triggered a prompt bird flip, yeah that is a public company whose stock could be bought today. Get upset that Starbucks is now charging you $0.15 more for that 700 calorie extra, extra whip cream drink? Well, that additional $0.15 probably means Starbucks’ profits will rise and along with it, its stock price (which also could be bought today).

However, there is another financial world that you need to know about, and it exists on Twitter and Facebook. News that directly impacts your current job, career, and financial futures is flowing very quickly nowadays thanks to advances in technology. That information is being distributed on social media by those who are either seeking to profit from that insight, or whose job is to simply share so that others could do the profiting. In the end, this collective flow of news is impacting your life today and into tomorrow, and sadly you have no clue about it because you only follow movie stars on Twitter and Facebook.

Who better to reach out to regarding things on finance and business on social media then my bud Stephanie Grayson, who is Social Media Editor for Yahoo! Finance. In case you are saying “who cares about Yahoo! Finance, I want to only follow inspirational quote streams and Lady Gaga on Twitter,” chew on these stats:

What she does: responsible for sharing must-know news on social media to oodles and oodles of VIPs and those interested in finance and business.

Why you need to follower her: if you want to be in the know about everything relevant in finance and business, she is your 24/7 source; she has true passion for her role, and that means you get the very best information each and every day.

Super street cred: ranked as one of the “Top 200 Social Media Influencers in New York City” by Tempero.

Q: You are a social media maven, and I have no doubt you see it all both on Twitter and Facebook. What are the top three mistakes people are making on social media that is preventing them from growing their following and if a small business, driving traffic to their sites?

A: Well, I actually think there’s a lot more going “right” than “wrong” on social media at the moment, but if I had to pick three mistakes I see people make on social, they’d probably be:

1. Not enough social media listening: It’s important for both individuals and businesses to listen. Just as with great real-life conversation offline, listening is huge. Listening enables your responses and messages to be timely, appropriate, engaging, and thoughtful. Million Dollar Man says: listen or lose, not just in social media, but in your business life.

2. Lack of flexibility: Social media reacts at lightning speed and not everything can be pre-planned. If you look at social media success stories, many are due to an individual’s or business’ ability to be effective in the moment. You can’t pre-schedule/automate everything for that kind of success. Million Dollar Man says: if you are learning each day and truly working hard, you will be ready for the big, unplanned business moment.

3. Wordiness: On social media, when it comes to word count, usually less is more. That doesn’t mean that thoughts/ideas get simplified. It means that we need to challenge ourselves to express our thoughts/ideas in a concise, effective, and compelling way. Using an accompanying photo or infographic is helpful too and adds visual interest. Million Dollar Man says: this is counterintuitive, but sometimes you have to tease a key business contact in order to rope them into your world of awesomeness; call it business mating.

Q: So let’s say you are giving a speech to 500 young adults poised to graduate college, and you had five open spots to join your social media team. How could that young adult stick out from the crowd and score the job?

A: I’d certainly want to consider their (public) social media activity. Being active on social media and engaged with social media communities online are great ways to prepare for a job in social media, and to develop a social media presence even before graduation. I’d also want to ask the social media candidates about which people and brands they think are doing a great job on social media, and why.

Million Dollar Man says: get out of your daily routine, begin today to establish yourself in public arenas…employers in new fields are watching.

Q: To be successful in business, a person has to be “on” at the right times, delivering both positive energy and information relevancy. You have extensive experience in training people for public appearances, when they arrive at your doorstep what are a few things they are doing wrong? Is there a three point plan you have in mind that could help Men’s Health readers to be “on” when there big chance in business presents itself?

A: If I had to pick just three communication behaviors that set you up for success in business they’d be:

• Enthusiasm is contagious. If you have genuine enthusiasm for your work, it gets others excited about your ideas/plans too, which then leads to buy-in, teamwork, productivity, and a good working environment.

• It’s OK to not know every answer, but maintain confidence anyway. Don’t get flustered. There are many ways to confidently say that you’ll need to check on something/get more information on a topic.

Million Dollar Man says: these are profound words of wisdom, bottom line.

Q: Come on Steph, you work for a company whose name suggests finance is exciting (exclamation point + the word finance). Give us one business/finance stat that would wow every person reading this and sharing the link on social media.

A: There is one compelling stat I saw recently that really impressed me, and it applies to all fields and businesses. A study conducted by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has found that 90% of consumers would recommend a brand to others after interacting with them on social media. 90%! That’s huge. The study found that social media can drive ROI by driving brand sentiment, encouraging consumer engagement and increasing brand loyalty.

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